


The Infirmary Stay

by olivemartini



Series: Solangelo [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, solangelo, some language, those 3 days in the infirmary Nico promised
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 12:20:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7844710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olivemartini/pseuds/olivemartini
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico had promised him three days, and that's all he intended to give him.  <br/>Except for that fact that he really was sort of sick, and it turns out that he's become very attached to Will, with his bright small and lanky limbs and laugh that seems to make the infirmary ten times brighter.  It feels like having a friend, if being friends meant they threatened you into taking naps and occasionally had to help you to the bathroom so you could vomit in private.  </p><p>*It's better than it sounds I swear*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The first 24 hours at the infirmary, all Nico did was sleep. 

He had promised Will three days under his supervision, during which time he would think over his decision to leave camp half blood and Will would try to bully him into believing that he had friends here. Nico found himself reluctant to go back on his promise.  Not that he really could have, considering that by the time they made it to the infirmary door Will was practically dragging him towards an empty bed, muttering encouragements and compliments so they all mixed together into one long sentence, and drew the curtains around Nico the moment his head hit the pillow.  It had been so long since he'd had a decent nights sleep, since he had a safe place to rest and didn't have to keep one eye open all night, that he couldn't help but fall asleep, even though he knew that the nightmares were probably lurking.

He was pretty sure Will kept poking his head in through the curtains, as if to make sure that his unwilling guest hadn't somehow disappeared, but he didn't need to worry.  Nico couldn't have found the energy to leave even if he wanted to.

 

 

@

 

 

There was a slight argument when Nico finally woke up.

"Will, I'm fine."  He didn't understand the problem.  Will wanted him to rest, Nico went to sleep.  Will wanted him to stop shadow traveling around everywhere for at least a month, Nico promised to stop shadow traveling.  Will wanting Nico to stay in the infirmary for the entire three days, however, where there was nowhere to hide from the whispers and the stares, was completely ridiculous when he had a perfectly fine cabin waiting for him just across the camp.  "Just let me go! I'll come back for check ups for something."

"No."  It was infuriating, really, because Will wasn't even looking up from his damn clip board and was managing to keep Nico on the bed with just the one hand pressing into his shoulder.  He stopped struggling eventually, because people were staring.  It was embarrassing, because just two days ago he had been known as the boy who could drag a statue across the world and make skeleton armies erupt from the ground, but now he couldn't even sit up without someone's help.  He was weak, and exhausted, and everyone knew it.  It only helped a little that once this was all over, he could schedule the Hades cabin to sword training in the arena the same time as the Apollo cabin, and then he could show Will exactly how tough he was.  "You promised three days."

He didn't get it, really.  There were other campers that needed attention.  Other campers that would have loved to have Will peering over at them from his clipboard, changing bandages and giving healing hymns and generally making things better.  Other campers with much more serious injuries, wounds that are visible and not just crawling beneath their skin and hiding in the back of their minds.  Campers with much more well-liked than Nico, with more talent and more worth.  It just didn't make sense that Will was over here badgering him about taking a nap.  "There's nothing wrong with me."

Will laughed, and even though Nico liked the sound a lot (somehow, it reminded him a bit of Bianca's), he could still feel his face heat up. He didn't like being laughed at, even if he was sure he deserved it and Will wasn't even doing it to be mean.  "Stand up and walk across the room, and I'll let you leave."

It was a bit disappointing.  He had thought that Will would put up more of a fight, or at least say he would accompany him back to the cabin, but then again, he was very busy.  Nico heaved a sigh, swung his legs over the side of the bed, and stood up, intending to prove exactly how healthy he was.  Except for the fact that he only made it two feet before he started swaying and the room was spinning.  His knees were buckling, and Nico was just getting his arms out to break his fall when there was Will, wrapping his arms around him and helping Nico back to the bed.  "I've got you." 

And Nico, Nico couldn't do anything but close his eyes and lean into it, even after he was sitting down again and there was no real reason to.  Will kept repeating it, over and over, "I got you, I got you," until Nico could almost let himself believe it.  "You didn't think I was actually going to let you fall, did you?  I knew there was no way you were making it out of bed."

Nico had to swallow around the lump in his throat that had suddenly appeared, blinking back tears and praying to the gods (and here's something he never thought of before, how horrible must it be for his father to hear prayers like this and know what a wimp his son really is) that Will won't see them. 

He doesn't.

Thank Hades for small miracles.

 

 

@

 

 

 

Nico's officially become Will's pet project. 

He doesn't think it was meant to be like that, exactly, but the Apollo cabin had done their job very well and now there were very few campers left in the infirmary.  So Will had more free time and was always popping in on Nico, smiling and joking and asking if he needs anything, and gods, if Nico isn't careful he might find himself in love with him by the time these three days are over. 

There were only four of them in the infirmary now, counting Will and Nico.  The surplus of Nectar and Ambrosia that Hermes had brought down from Olympus had done wonders, especially when paired with the Apollo cabin's healing abilities.  So now they only had Karen, a Demeter camper who had gotten some nasty burns from the lava wall and was waiting for the healing salve Will used to start working, and a camper whose name Nico didn't know.  Will wouldn't say anything about him, had tucked him in the very back corner of the infirmary (Nico was by the nurses station, very close to Will at all times), but Nico could tell that the boy wasn't going to ever rejoin normal life at camp, no matter what Will does.

So there's enough free time that Will stops dead when walking through the room, whirls around on a heel, and stares at Nico in apparent horror.  "You haven't eaten anything today!"

Which is true, but he hadn't eaten anything the day before that either, and probably not the day before that, and he really wasn't sure how often he was eating even before all this craziness with Tarturus started, so it hadn't really bothered him that much.  But apparently it bothered Will.  "It's okay.  I'm not hungry, anyways."

Will was having none of that, and pretty soon they were both sitting cross legged on Nico's bed, working their way through a turkey sandwhich and a bag of doritos.  It was nice, and Nico could feel where his knee was pressing into Will's, and Will kept telling him stories of what he missed here at camp.  This having friends thing wasn't so bad, after all.  Will was just getting into a really animated story when he stopped, looking midly alarmed.  "Are you alright?  You're really pale."

Nico wanted to make a joke about that, because how is that something out of the ordinary, but his stomach was too busy doing back flips. "I think," Not think, really, most definitely am was probably a better way to phrase it, "I'm going to be sick."

He's not really sure how it happened, but suddenly there was a bucket in his lap, and Nico was emptying the bit of lunch he managed to eat into it.  Will was behind him, rubbing his back and making noises that were probably supposed to be soothing, but Nico was to busy coughing up his stomach contents to care.  And when he was done, with Will switching out the puke filled bucket for a glass of water, Nico was pretty sure vomiting in front of a cute guy and then watch him clean it up has made the top of his "most humiliating stories" list.

A few minutes went by, during which Will rinsed out the bucket and Nico twisted the skull ring around his finger, before either of them spoke again.  "I'm sorry."

Will smiled, a soft, comforting smile, and sat back down on the bed.  "Don't be.  I barely even register things like that anymore.  It's second nature by now."  Then, after a pause here Nico was seriously searching for a shadow to disappear into, Will spoke again.  "I should have known better than to give you that much to eat, anyways."

"Putting me on a diet?"  Will didn't laugh.  Nico didn't really expect him to.

"You're not leaving the infirmary tomorrow."  It wasn't a request, or a plea, or a negotiation.  It was an order.  "You're sick, Nico."

Nico couldn't even argue.

 

 

@

 

 

It's seven at night on day 4 (Will works the afternoon and night shifts), and they're playing cards.

Nico's not even sure what game they're playing, really, only able to focus on the fact that Will scrunches his nose when he concentrates and he's the least competitive person he's ever met in his entire life.  They've talked about a lot of things in the past hour- Will's old pets, the fact that Nico was born in the 1920's, Will's first boyfriend, Nico saying in a very determined voice that he has not been in any relationships yet but managing to keep the pronouns applying to both genders, his old obsession with mythomagic cards, the fact that Will's the only child of Apollo that's crappy at archery.  So it's not really his fault that he doesn't really notice the leap in conversation as something he needs to pay attention to until much later, he just assumed it was Will's train of thought deciding to leave the tracks altogether.

"Sometimes people really don't like it in here."

"At the infirmary?  Wonder why." Nico snorted, but then put the cards down, because something about this had serious conversation written all over it.  "Coming here generally means that they're sick or hurt, it's not exactly what people look forward too."

"I get that.  What I meant was,"  Will was floundering, seeming to be at a complete loss for words.  "I'm the doctor, right?"

"Right."

"So I see people when they're really sick, or hurt, or whatever.  And you have to help people a lot, and see them during a time where they're really vulnerable.  Some people don't like that."  Nico still doesn't see the point of this.  People don't like being sick?  Is that news to Will?  "And its one thing at an actual hospital, when its random faces seeing you like that, but its another when you have to see that person who helped you into the showers that one time when you had a broken leg over and over again, every day and at every meal and campfire.  Sometimes they won't talk to me for a while, even if we were really good friends before it happened."

Nico could understand that, but he also felt a little angry that anyone would ignore Will, no matter how logical their reasoning.  "I'm sorry."

Will waved his hand, shooing away the apology like it was an annoying fly.  "It's okay, I understand, that wasn't my point.  It's just,"  He looked a little unsure now.  "We're still going to be friends after this, right?  Even if you feel a little weird when I clean up your vomit?"

Nico grinned.  Friends.  He had a friend.  Will was his friend.  "Even if you clean up my vomit."

 

 

@

 

 

Nico should have known, of course, that Will had a reason for that conversation.  Nothing can just be simple here, no, everything had to be awkward and embarrassing and horrible, and Will always had to be right there in the middle of it.

Apparently Kaylah mentioned to Austin who told Will that sometimes (only sometimes!) Nico winces when he moves his left shoulder.  And Will could never leave well enough alone, because now its three in the fucking morning and Will was badgering about it, bringing up that conversation about how things weren't going to get weird, and saying again that they were friends.  "Look."  There's an edge of panic in Nico's voice then, and he really wants Will to not notice it, but he does.  "There was a lot of stuff that happened while I was away, alright?  I got hurt a lot of times, and there was no one there to stitch me up all nice, so it just.. aches a bit when I move a certain way."

"Then let me see it!"

"There's nothing to see.  It's healed."

"Nico, I can help you."  Will had his hand on top of Nico's, which made it really hard to think of a compelling argument.  "I want to help you.  Just let me see it."

Long story short, that's how Will got Nico to take off his shirt and drop it onto the pillow, crossing his arms over his chest and daring Will to make a comment.  Daring him to laugh, or joke, or make light of this situation in any way.  Except Will wasn't really doing that, all Will was doing was reaching out and pulling his arms down to his sides, despite Nico's protests.  "Oh, gods, Nico."  He was whispering, but his voice seemed to echo in the quiet of the infirmary.  "What happened?"

Nico sort of wanted to melt into the floor.  He wanted to shrink in on himself and disappear right through the floor, actually, but what he really wanted to do was put his shirt back on.  He knew what Will was seeing, all bones sticking out from pale skin, skinny and scrawny and not really looking like a warrior.  He also knew that his skin kind of resembles a patchwork quilt made by someone who didn't really know how to sew, what with all the scars covering his entire chest.  They criss cross his back, dot his chest, circle his arms.  Sometimes there are slash marks (claws) or jagged ones from where he was thrown against rocks, and even some semi healing ones that Reyna had stitched up. And not that it mattered, really, but standing here just made him realize exactly how unattractive he was, and that's suddenly become very important now that Will was looking at him.

"A lot of things."  His voice sounds incredibly calm, even with the hand brushing over his ribs, fingers feeling the hollows between his bones, a thumb brushing his collar bone.  He's sure it's supposed to be medical, a short cut for measuring if he's as sick as he looks, but it still make Nico catch his breath.  "A lot of bad things happened, Will."

"Okay."  It was soft, and Will's voice sort of broke when he said it.  He cleared his throat and tried again, louder.  "Okay.  Well.  I'll have to redo the stitches, of course.  And stretching in the mornings and not doing any lifting while you heal up should help, but..."

"But?"  There's always an end hanging there, something that takes away from all the good things.

"I can't get rid of the scars."  Nico was expecting it, but it was still a little bit hard to hear, to know that he's going to carry around all these reminders for the rest of his life. 

"It's okay."  He was shrugging on his shirt now, desperate to have all of it covered up again.  "I was never much to look at anyways."

"Don't do that."  Will caught at his wrist, and Nico took a moment to consider the fact that he was now in the position to snap Will's arm as punishment for touching him.  Strangely enough, he didn't want to.  "You look..."

"Like Frankenstein gone wrong?" 

"You've got scars.  More than others, I'll grant you that."  Will swallowed hard, nervously.  He still hadn't let go of Nico's wrist.  "But that doesn't change the fact that you most definitely are something to look at."

Nico was pretty sure that was a subtle way of calling him cute, but he wasn't sure.  "Thanks."  And then, because he was a coward he added, "Can I go to sleep now?"

"Yeah of course.  It's late anyways."

Nico rolled over, feeling a little bad when he heard Nico settle into the chair and begin to take stock of supplies.  He's pretty sure he'll stay awake for most of the night now.  "And Will?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't look that bad yourself." 

 

 

@

 

 

They are on day seven.

And its amazing how much better Nico was feeling, even if he does still look sort of transparent when the light catches him a certain way and he spends most of his day asleep.  Still, he's managed to get rid of the exhaustion that always seemed to settle into his bones no matter how much he rested, and he's gotten to the point where he can eat semi normal portions.  Will even stopped bringing the puke bucket over at mealtimes.

He's not going to lie and say that Will didn't have anything to do with it.  Turns out Nico had a thing for blondes with overly cheerful smiles.  He's gotten used to all of the touching and the hugging and the way Will seems to make the whole entire infirmary come alive the moment he comes barreling through the door, giving Nico a enthusiastic wave and asking him to "keep an eye on things" while he showered, because he normally is running late and just came from archery practice.  Nico isn't even sure why he bothers with the archery, because according to Austin and Kaylah, he's a dismal shot and only seems to be getting worse as time goes on.  (Personally, considering how many times Will had misread the clock, Nico thinks he just needs glasses, but Will just crinkled up his nose and said that he wouldn't wear them.)

There are moments that Nico finds himself looking forward to a lot.  Like how the bed's a bit too small for the two of them to sit in, so when they play cards their knees touch even if they're on opposite ends of the bed.  Or how Will likes to sing when he's cleaning, using the mop as a microphone sometimes, and Nico rates the songs from 1-10.  (Once, when Nico mentioned that he was particularly fond of Fall Out Boy, Will walked in and busted out a perfect rendition of Just One Yesterday.  It remains the only song that Nico rated a ten.)  There are also the times where Nico looks over to find Will already looking at him, and Will looks away with a blush creeping up his neck, like he just got caught doing something awful.

There are also times that Nico doesn't look forward to very much, but loves all the same.  Sometimes he wakes up to hear Will talking to the boy in the back, the one who hasn't really woken up to do anything but scream out in pain, and Nico feels his heart twist, because a part of that boy's mind was already waiting with Charon, restless and looking forward to the next adventure.  Will always comes away looking very exhausted, and doesn't seem to want to do anything but sit at the foot of Nico's bed and stare at the floor, fingers tapping against the sheets to the tune always going in his head.  Other times, Will approaches with a nervous look on his face and says he needs to check his stitches, holding the antiseptic up as if nico wouldn't believe him otherwise.  They've made a game out of it, where Will traces his hand over any scar he wants, and Nico finds the story bubbling out of him, unleashing the memories that had been just out of his reach.  It's amazing, really, how well he remembers each individual moment of pain. 

It's probably not a good thing, to have ended up loving it here so much, where he knows he's safe and accepted, but he can't help it.  Nico doesn't think he's ever going to be ready to leave, no matter how healthy he becomes.

 

 

@

 

 

It's two in the morning on a Thursday, and Nico is in the infirmary.

Only he's not in the infirmary, not really, he's in Tarturus, and there are these  _things_ coming after him, things that sounded like Percy and Annabeth and Biance and Hazel and that annoying kid from the Apollo cabin that talked to him during sword training sometimes, all of them screaming for help, and Nico had gone towards them even though he knew it was probably impossible for them to be stuck down here with him.  It turned out that he was right, because they were not actually people that he's learned to care about, it was these weird creatures that he has no idea what they are (just his luck to find the one type of monster Chiron didn't talk about, probably because it's been down here for so long it hasn't had a chance to kill any campers), only that they have fangs and razor sharp nails, with eyes that look like black pits.  There is something that looks an awful lot like dried blood crusting the corner of their mouths, and one is running with a demigod's dagger still stuck into it's shoulder.  Nico wants to keep running, but suddenly there is no where left to run.  He can feel something in him screaming at him to keep going, that he can't take them, and it sounds suspiciously like his father.  His father had been trying to help him down here for a while now, screaming curses and advice in equal measure, but Tarturus was beyond even his reach.  Nico was on his own, and for the first time in his life he knew for certain that he was about to be very hurt (there are no skeleton armies to call upon here), and there is nothing left to but stand his ground and draw his sword with a shaking hand.

He's just about to take the first swing when he's not there anymore, he's in somebody's arms instead, with them pinning him down to a bed.  Nico kept struggling, because that's not how it's supposed to work.  He was supposed to turn one into dust just in time for the other to dig its claws into his shoulder, and then the other two fell on him, but that's not important now, because Will's here, and he's saying something that Nico thinks he should be listening to.  "Nico!  Nico, calm down.  It's me, it's Will, Nico, come on, wake up."

He was awake.  Awake, but still terrified, eyes darting around the room and breaths coming out in great heaving gasps, his lungs working overtime to keep him from drowning in his own panic.  It's almost worse since he had a break, because he's lost whatever resistance he had built against them, and he's acting like a little kid again, clutching to Will like he used to cling to Bianca.  Or maybe its not that, maybe it's just the fact that now he has someone willing to protect him.  

Whatever the reason, he's crying.  His head is buried into Will's shoulder, and Will just keeps pulling him closer, one hand buried into his hair. Nico's pretty sure he's saying something, but he isn't paying attention to the individual words, just the sound of his voice.  It took him a while to get himself under control, during which time Will made a lot of soothing noises and held him tighter when Nico began to rock back and forth. 

"Are you okay now?"  It's cautious, like any little sound might set Nico off.

"I haven't been okay in a long time."  Its the truth, which is so depressing that Nico might have started crying again if he had anymore tears to shed.  "I was so stupid, Will."

"No.  No you weren't."

"I knew I wasn't part of the prophecy.  I knew."  He's yanking at his hair again, because this is the part of the story that he always hated the most, that he took on this impossible task that wasn't even his to begin with, failed horribly, and then had to be rescued by the same people he had been trying to protect.  "I just, my dad always wanted a hero, and that's what I was trying to be.  I knew someone had to go to Tarturus to close the doors, and I was scared it might be Hazel, and I couldn't lose my sister again, Will, I just couldn't.  I thought I could do it."

"You are a hero."  Will was kneeling now, grabbing at Nico's hands, probably to keep him from hurting himself.  "You saved people, Nico."

"It's so horrible down there."  Nico knew he looked awful, all red rimmed eyes and pale skin and tear stained face, but he didn't care.  "I was so scared.  I thought I was going to die, and if you die down there you might get stuck, and it was the first time.. it was the first time I knew what it was like to be afraid of dying."  There are soothing noises again, but Nico isn't having any of it.  "There are so many horrible things down there.  So much pain.  And I don't want to go back there ever again."

"You won't."  There's a tremor in Will's voice, and Nico wonders for a second if the rumors he's heard about the Apollo kids being so empathic they can feel the pain of others are true. If so, Will should run far away from Nico.  "I promise."

"I see it every night. Every time I close my eyes.  Over, and over, and over." 

Will was climbing into bed with him, which didn't make sense until he started humming.  Nico recognized it as a lullaby Will would sing to the few younger campers, the ones who come in complaining of nightmares.  Will had explained that it was a different kind of healing, one that would help the hurt in their hearts and let them sleep through the night.

Nico didn't think there was any healer skilled enough to stitch his mind back together, but Will was perfectly welcome to try.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Things change after the nightmare.

Before, there was always some sort of invisible line drawn between them, but Nico guesses that was probably erased around the time he woke up and found out that Will accidently fell asleep while he was in Nico's bed, and they had ended up spending the whole night curled around each other.  He still gets a little confused whenever he thinks about it, and more than a little panicked, because every time he looks at Will all he can think about is that time he opened his eyes and was pulled right up against him, with Will hiding his face in Nico's neck. 

There is more touching.  All of it is pretty innocent, just the way their fingertips brush when Will gives something to him, or the hands that always seem to find their way to Nico's shoulder, or that one time Will was bent over and Nico reached out to tuck a strand of his blonde hair away from his eyes, just because.  There is also something that Hazel had declared to be flirting, and said that Nico was more oblivious than Frank, which was probably an insult but Nico didn't mind, because Frank was an alright guy.  Nico smiles more, too, and suddenly the infirmary is filled with laughing and good natured bickering, and it's just become a much happier place in general.

It has been ten days, and Nico is still not well enough to function outside of the infirmary. 

Only ten, and yet Will has already become the best friend that Nico has ever had. 

(Though as far as friends go, that Karen girl that got hurt on the lava wall and kept popping in to visit wasn't half bad, even if she kept talking about flowers.)

 

 

@

 

 

He should have known better than to think that everything could be this good forever.

He and Will were spread out in the office area, with Nico perched on the counter.  Will had the only chair, which was necessary so he could write up paperwork and read things (and he did have glasses, though he swears he only needs them for reading), and had decided that there was no way he could let Nico just stand the whole time.  So he just lifted him up and placed him on the counter top, completely ignoring the undignified squeak that Nico made.  And he didn't want to ruin it, not with the way Will was smiling at him, but there was something very bad happening in the back of the infirmary.

"Will."  Nico slid off the counter and made his way to the back, knocking aside a cart as he did so.  "Will, somethings wrong."

"What are you talking about?"

"The other kid, you need to check on him."  He sort of wants to keep it to himself, because he knows that to try and save him would only lengthen his suffering when there's no hope of a happy ending, and there isn't really enough of the camper's consciousness left to be considered alive anyways.  But Nico knew that Will ~~wanted~~ needed to try and save him, even if it was hopeless.  But Will was just staring at him, unconvinced, and it occurred to Nico that he doesn't know the full extent of how entwined with death he really was.  "He's dying, Will.  I can feel it."

That got him moving, barking at Nico to stay where was, even though both of them knew he wasn't going to listen.  It took him a while, lurching between the beds so he always had something near to keep him steady, so by the time Nico arrived Will was doing chest compressions and doing all kinds of medical things that Nico didn't know the words for.  But Nico did know death when he saw it, and it was most definitely here.

Will wasn't stopping.  He was sort of just frantically going through the motions, bouncing from one cure to another, muttering greek curses under his breath.  It took Nico a second to get moving, leaning forward and grabbing onto his arms, forcing Will to look at him instead of the body on the bed.

That's all it was now.  Not a boy, not a hero, not a person.  Just a body.

 "He's gone, Will.  He's gone."

He didn't look Nico in the eye, just tried to free himself of Nico's grip.  "I need to help him, Nico!"

"There's nothing you can do."  Nico didn't want to tell him that there was nothing he could have done, that there would have been no success story even if he had sat by this boys day and night.  The truth wasn't always helpful.  "He's gone."

They stared at each other a minute, during which time Will looked like he was going to hit something.  For a second, Nico thought it would be him, but then his fist was slamming into the wall, once, twice, a third time. Before he could say anything else, Will was out the door, leaving Nico to stare at the blood smearing the wall. 

The boy's name, he learned, was Kaleb.

 

 

@

 

 

Will doesn't come back.

Chiron does instead, with Mr. D trailing behind him. There was a strange look in the god's eyes, one that made Nico turn away, because it reminded him too much of the nights he spent curled into a ball and drowning in an invisible ocean. They talked in whispers for a long time, with Nico pacing the hallway until he felt like he was going to pass out, and finally took the body away.

The funeral took place the next day, with a simple but beautiful shroud covering the casket.  Nico watched through the infirmary window with Austin supporting his weight, gripping the windowsill so tight it cut into his palms.  Directly across from them, apart from the crowd and barely visible in the line of trees, was a tall figure with bright blonde hair.

The whole thing made Nico want to disappear for the first time since Will dragged him in here.

 

 

@

 

 

Will didn't come back for another two days, during which Nico is able to keep down five full sized meals in a row, sleep without any nightmares, and almost gets his arm to experience full range of mobility for the first time all year.  Unfortunately, he still isn't at the point where he can wander around unattended, because he does tend to collapse rather often.

 Nico doesn't do much.  He reads a book.  Stares at the now empty bed.  Discusses the pros and cons of different flowers with Karen, gets in an argument with Jason that feels more like they're playing rather than fighting.  Washes away the dried blood that everyone seems to have missed.

Austin and Kaylah assure him that Will is fine, he just needed some time away from everything. It appears that he does this, when things get to be to much.

They say its nothing to worry about.

 

 

@

 

 

And apparently they're right, because Will comes strolling in the infirmary door two days later, whistling a  pretty dismal tune.  He smiles, but doesn't say anything, just sits himself in the chair and doesn't look Nico in the eye his whole shift.  When he goes to leave, Nico calls out his name, wanting him to turn around but only getting him to pause. 

This is the time where Nico should say something really inspirational and deep to make Will feel better, but all that comes out of his mouth is him asking if he's okay, which is such a stupid thing to ask, because he's clearly not.  

"I can't today.  Okay?"

What can Nico do but agree?  So he says okay, trying not to take it like a personal rejection, and tries to convince himself that its not any harder to go to sleep than when he knows Will is watching over him.

 

 

@

 

 

There is a sound.

Nico can't really place it at first, because it's dark and he thought that Kaylah was going to be the one here with him tonight.  Instead its Will, with hunched shoulders and shaking hands covering his face, the office area dimly lit by one single lamp.  He seemed to have snuck in during the night and told Kaylah to go home, because he's still in his pajamas.   

"Will?" 

His voice is too loud in the quiet, especially when the sounds stops.  Nico realizes its Will, Will crying and trying not to wake him up while he does so.  "Go back to bed, Nico."

Nico never did have a tendency for doing what he was told, so he just slid out of bed and walked towards Will, trying not to be afraid.  He didn't panic, even when he turned the corner and saw how horrible Will looked, who was clearly crying.  Not to mention the fact that his hand was so swollen that Nico was almost certain it had to be broken.  "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Will..."

"I said nothing, Nico."  The words are biting, ripping into Nico, because Will has never been anything close to mean or dismissive or anything less than wonderful.  But it's not about him, or because of him, this is because of the boy Will couldn't save, and probably all the ones before that. 

"That's bullshit."  There's a sharp intake of breath, and Will is scrubbing away more tears like he has something to be embarrassed about.  "Tell me what's wrong."

"Because you're such an expert on mental health?" 

And again, ouch, even though Nico was aware that was a pretty tame insult when compared to all the other things he's heard.  "Because it makes you feel better if you talk about it."

"I let a kid die, Nico."  And there it was, the elephant in the room, finally.  Nico really didn't expect it to sound so horrible.  "How can anyone make that better?"

Will is standing up, ready to storm out again, and Nico knows that even though he's probably going to make things worse (he always does), maybe this time he should at least try to be comforting.  "He's happy now."

There is a definite pause, a tightness in his shoulders and a tilt of the head that Nico took to mean that Will was listening. "He was in a lot of pain when he was here.  Confused.  Part of him was here, part of him was with my dad, and both halves were trying to decide which one would win out.  In the end, he made his decision, Will.  It was his decision to make, not yours, and I swear by the river styx that even if you spent the rest of your life trying to save him, there was nothing you could have done."

"What about all the others?"  Will's crying openly now.  "I watched so many people die, Nico.  Kids.  There was this little girl, eleven years old, and I held her hand while she died, promising that she would be okay.  Do you know what its like?"

Nico could tell him stories of what he knew, wanted to tell him that he understood every aspect of dying, but facts weren't what Will wanted.  "They're in Elysium.  They died a hero's death, all of them, and they all got a hero's reward.  Trust me when I say that its better down there."

"I didn't want them to die."  Nico was folding Will into his arms now, both of them sinking down to the ground, limbs tangled to the point where Nico couldn't figure out what belonged to who.  "I tried to save them."

"You tried really hard to save them.  Really, really hard.  And you saved a lot of people."  Nico was whispering into his ear.  

"I can't save anybody.  I try so hard, and I never get it right.  I can heal broken bones, sure, but I can't help anyone that really needs it."

Nico was rocking him back and forth, making soothing murmurs, not missing the irony of the fact that he was now the one to comfort will.  "I don't know if it helps, but you saved me."  Will's breath hitched in his throat, the sob cutting off before it could start.  "You saved me."

When Kaylah found them the next morning, Nico was staring at the clock with his hand tangled in Will's hair, Will curled up like a cat at his side.

 

 

@

 

 

It's strange, to think that Nico would be good at playing nurse, but he was.

Will couldn't do much with his one hand all swollen and bent out of shape, so Nico took over, scribbling in paperwork with handwriting that was much neater than any of the Apollo kid's, rolling up bandages, changing sheets.  It's nice, giving him a steady rhythm of work to break up the monotony of just sitting and watching other people play basketball outside the window, even if he does have to sit down every so often and catch his breath.  Will just grumbles, something about patients being the priority and that he's not a baby and "gods, di angelo, it's only a few broken fingers sit back down." 

"You could just fix your hand, you know.  It would get this over with a lot faster.  You'd be able to do all this work, and then you can go back to turning me into your personal medical database for all future sons of Hades."  It's meant as a joke, but Nico knew as soon as the words left his mouth that this was probably a can of worms best left unopened, at least for the moment, because they were having a pretty good time.  Will is clenching his broken hand into a fist, grinding the spit knuckles down onto the counter top, gritting his teeth against the pain.

Nico knows a punishment when he sees one.

"Stop that."  He grabbed at his arm, yanking the wrist towards him.  He was not being gentle, but Nico was never known for being gentle when someone was hurting a person he loves.  He does not really know what to do when the person is hurting themselves, when there is no monster to fight or bully to beat up.  There is only a bit of angry tears welling up in sad blue eyes, shame etched into every freckled inch of his face.  "You don't need to hurt yourself to make up for him."

"I should feel something.  Take some sort of punishment."  Nico does not want to think about how well he knows that slippery slope, where just pressing down onto a bruise or taking advantage of an accidental pain can turn into something very bad, very quickly.  He does not want to wonder about how intimately Will knows that path, if he had unknowingly wandered down it like Nico did, and then had to scramble back up the rocky road before it was too late. 

"He died. But now he's happy.  And you sitting here, letting yourself hurt because you think it's easier than whatever it is that you're feeling, isn't going to help anyone."  Nico's angry now, angry at the gods for letting that kid die, angry at Charon for not letting that tiny bit of Kaleb come back to the land of the living, angry at himself for not knowing how to stop this.  "But what happens when the next kid comes in and needs a doctor, Will?  Doctors need steady hands.  They can't fix anything when they're off breaking themselves."  Will is only staring, which may be very good or very bad, Nico hasn't decided yet.  "And I don't want to see you hurt.  So if nothing else, do it for me."

 

 

 

@

 

 

Nico was pretty sure he broke everything.

Which isn't surprising, because he's used to watching every good thing that ever walked into his life crumble into dust, but still, he didn't think Will would spend the next three hours in stony silence until Austin walked in for his shift, and then storm out the door without even a good bye.  Nico kind of wanted to punch something (which was a bit ironic) and god damn it, this guy thing was a lot more complicated than he had originally thought.  It turns out that once you get over the fact that _yes, that is a male, and yes, I totally did just want him to do unspeakable things to me_ there was a whole knew load of problems that he never even knew existed.

Like what to do about the super cute boy that drags you to the infirmary and makes you feel things for him, nurses you back to health, becomes your best friend and helps you make a whole lot of other friends (though Will swears that's just Nico's charm shining through), then spirals into a pit of despair and won't let Nico help him back out.  That's what this stupid camp should teach, not this nonsense about sword fights and how to read ancient greek.

Nico listened to the sound of the bell of the door, the sound of the nightshift coming in (Will), and rolled over, punching his pillow to make it form a more comfortable shape.  He wasn't angry. He was just confused, and pining after a guy completely out of his league.  He was intending not to talk to him, smile made of sunshine be damned, but then there was a hand on his shoulder, so gentle, rocking back and forth just enough to get his attention.  Soft enough, that had Nico actually been asleep like he was pretending to be, that it wouldn't have woken him up.  Nico really wished Will wouldn't be all considerate when he was trying to stay mad at him.

"What's wrong?"  Something was wrong, because Will actually looked nervous, his eyes darting around the room like something might be waiting to jump out of the shadows and grab them. 

"Can you help me?"  It seemed to actually pain Will to say the words, even though Nico was up in a second, rubbing at his eyes and walking towards him.  "I can't wash the stupid cuts out one handed."

They were split open again, little rivers of blood trickling over his fingers.  Nico held them under the faucet, watching the water turn pink and swirl down the trail, wincing when Will took a bottle of antiseptic and just dumped it on top of his hand.  There seemed to be a spell under the infirmary, one that wasn't letting either of them talk, because they stayed completely silent even as Nico wrapped a towel around his fingers.

"I'm not taking ambrosia.  No easy way out for me."  It's almost funny how easily Will is able to interpret Nico's questions.  "But I put a healing spell on it, the bones should be all healed in a few days.  I'm just going to keep the cuts bandaged."

Or Nico was, apparently, because Will was sitting on the counter now, staring down at him while Nico wrapped the gauze around his hand.  The only sound was coming from Will, who would let out a little hiss whenever Nico pulled the band aid to fast.  "I'm sorry.  Is it too tight?"

"It's fine."

"I don't want you hurt."  And there was the most truthful thing Nico had ever said, slipping out of his mouth like he was just commenting on the weather, even though it felt like a confession.  "At all."

"I'm not.  It's all better."  A lie, but he was smiling, and Nico had learned long ago that physical pain has nothing on what your mind can do to you. So maybe it's easier for Will to feel a little better when Nico is still holding his hand even though they both know there's no reason for him to be, and he's standing by his legs at a distance so close that Nico can see the little specks of grey in his eyes. 

They are close enough that when Nico tilts his head at just the right angle, and looks Will in the eye long enough that it should be uncomfortable, he gets the random thought that this would be an excellent time to start kissing him, and then having another, even stranger thought that Will might be having the exact same idea.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone can think of a better title, please let me know.


End file.
